BEITBRIDGE Border Post, a major gateway between Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries north of the Zambezi River and South Africa, has officially been transformed into a modern and efficient transit hub.
According to the Department of Immigration, a total of 2,6 million people passed through the border post in 2022. This is a significant increase in traffic, as more travellers are now choosing Beitbridge as their preferred port of entry due to its improved facilities and services.
Prior to the transformation, travellers often used other less busy ports to avoid the chaos at Beitbridge. However, thanks to the Government’s public-private partnership with the Zimborders Consortium, a total of US$300 million was committed to the project, which has been running under a 17-and-a-half-year build-operate-and-transfer concession.
Three terminals now handle freight, buses, and light passenger vehicles traffic, resulting in a decongested atmosphere and efficient service delivery.
Mr Lovemore Sauramba, the Principal Immigration Officer, praised the Government’s efforts in creating more service points.
He said traffic has been increasing at the border following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and the creation of more service points.
“The opening of new points of clearance within the border post (that is three terminals); means the congestion usually associated with Beitbridge has disappeared.
“The infrastructure, which we thank the Government for, has suddenly brought about a decongested atmosphere which in turn allows for the provision of efficiency in service delivery,” said Mr Sauramba.
In addition to the increased traffic, the border post has also processed thousands of self-repatriations and returning residents.
Mr Sauramba reported that in 2022, a total of 203 267 individuals returned home, comprising 86 826 men, 94 146 women, and 22 295 children. Furthermore, the department of immigration has requested an additional 50 officers to beef up their staff complement at Beitbridge.
He said so far they had processed 29 424 self-repatriations from South Africa between January and February.
In terms of the accepted returning residents, 898 who were on the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit returned home in 2022 and another 93 returned in the first two months of this year. – The Chronicle
